Fiber optic networks are often used in telecommunication and device networking applications due to their flexibility, high data capacity, and immunity to interference. Since light is used as the data transmission medium, fiber optic cables can carry data over long distances with little attenuation relative to electrical data transmission. Fiber optic cables and associated networking components—including but not limited to trunk cables, patch cables, fiber optic switches, connectors, fiber optic cassettes, etc. —are used in many types of applications, including local area networks that use optical transceivers, corporate intranets that deploy optical pathways for high-speed transmission of data on a corporate campus, or other such data transmission applications.
A fiber network channel (or light path) connecting two end devices or transceivers may pass through several fiber optic cables, cable connectors, devices (e.g., switches or other networking device), fiber optic cassettes, splices, or other components. When designing fiber optic networks, designers must take care to select appropriate network components—and connect these components properly—to ensure that each fiber network channel correctly passes light from a source transceiver to its corresponding destination transceiver. Moreover, each channel must be designed such that the number and types of components through which the light passes does not cause a significant degradation of the light signal.
The above-described deficiencies of conventional patch panel systems are merely intended to provide an overview of some of the problems of current technology, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with the state of the art may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description.